opening a US bank account from Thailand

[zlodnick]

Can a US citizen, open a US bank account while living in Thailand?

[lopburi3]

I have done so several times but not recently.  If you have US military service give USAA a try - my account is using only my Bangkok address.

 

Many people I suspect continue to use US address for mail and have accounts.  Often family members home address.

[Rob13]

Have you tried?

[zlodnick]

No, I havent tried. My next question would be, how to go about it.

[lopburi3]

You would fill out an application just as you would do anywhere.  Believe most banks have on-line application forms.  Often a button called "Open an Account" or such.

 

 

[Pib]

Yes, I've done it several times over the last half dozen years.  However, you'll probably still need to have a U.S. residential/physical address along with your Thailand Mailing address....and I will admit I have used as my Mailing address my retired military APO address here in Thailand....don't have any accounts setup for my Bangkok home address.   Each bank will have its own policy as to how "picky" they are about acceptable addresses to open an account and which addresses they will mail to.

Edited November 20, 2016 by Pib

[zlodnick]

Sounds like something I could do.

Seems the address is a big deal. We own a house in the US and the daughter lives there, so that should make it easier.

Thanks for the help.

[Rob13]

1 hour ago, zlodnick said:

No, I havent tried. My next question would be, how to go about it.

 

 

I'd try Capital One, just google, CapOne online banking.. I opened an online account with them before I left the states last year. Pretty easy to do. IIf you have all the correct paperwork I think you could probably do it.

[Strange]

Dude, Citibank. 

 

Contact Citibank either online or by phone, request the application paperwork to be mailed to your "Address" IE your daughters address, have her forward the paperwork to you in Thailand by DHL or whatever, fill it all out, mail it back to your daughter, have her mail it in to Citibank Houston, TX with whatever is needed. 

 

Wait for a reply and your Debit/Credit card. Have the daughter send your card to thailand. Use the card to open online banking. Job done. 

 

I have 2 accounts with Citibank. 1 in Houston TX and 1 in Singapore. All USD accounts. Never stepped foot in a Citibank branch and all done by post from Thailand. Have 2 Credit Cards (actual credit cards) from Citibank as well. All done online and by post. 

[jimmyyy]

I opened a USAA account a few weeks back.  It was no problem at all. 

[ThaiBob]

I opened a Schwab account with a family members mailing address in California while here in Thailand. I used a VPN so that when I verified the trial deposits they didn't know I was outside the USA. I had the ATM card mailed to me. 

[CaptHaddock]

On 11/20/2016 at 0:59 PM, Rob13 said:

 

 

I'd try Capital One, just google, CapOne online banking.. I opened an online account with them before I left the states last year. Pretty easy to do. IIf you have all the correct paperwork I think you could probably do it.

 

It is my understanding that US banks will not knowingly open a checking account for a US citizen not resident in the US.  I don't know whether this restriction is a requirement of the Patriot Act or just the policy of the banks themselves.  On the Capital One form for  opening a checking account, for example, they specifically require a US residential address, not a mailing address.  The last time I opened an account at a credit union they required me to send a copy of a utility bill with my name and address on it as verification of my US address.  I was able to do that then, because I was still living in the US at the time, but I couldn't do it now.

 

It might be possible for an expat to get around the US residential address requirement by providing an address of a relative in that state.  However, at tax time the bank is going to send a copy of your 1099 to the state tax bureau in that state which is likely to wonder why you haven't filed a state income tax return, unless of course it is a state without an income tax.  It is not clear from the accounts above whether those who have, for instance a USAA account using an address in Thailand, were actually able to open the account from Thailand or were just able to change the address to Thailand after having opened it while still living in the US.

[lopburi3]

I clearly said I opened USAA account with only my Thai address. But that was a few years ago.

[Pib]

When I opened my USAA bank account and credit card account around 5 years ago I only used my APO mailing address which uses a state code equivalent of AP which just means Armed Forces Pacific.   Didn't have to use a residential address in the 50 states.

[CaptHaddock]

16 hours ago, Pib said:

When I opened my USAA bank account and credit card account around 5 years ago I only used my APO mailing address which uses a state code equivalent of AP which just means Armed Forces Pacific.   Didn't have to use a residential address in the 50 states.

 

APO mailing addresses are usually considered to be US addresses, particularly by banks whose target demographic is the military.  Expats, like the OP, are a different category.

[CaptHaddock]

16 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

I clearly said I opened USAA account with only my Thai address. But that was a few years ago.

 

I don't think you could do it now.

[craigt3365]

On 11/20/2016 at 9:34 PM, ThaiBob said:

I opened a Schwab account with a family members mailing address in California while here in Thailand. I used a VPN so that when I verified the trial deposits they didn't know I was outside the USA. I had the ATM card mailed to me. 

The VPN is a big deal.  I tried to open a Schwab account online and they tagged my IP address.  I was forwarded to the international group.  So, can't trade US stocks directly now.  Sucks.  USAA is also treating us differently now that our address is Thailand.  Can't trade US stocks there either, but banking is the same.  This just started last year.

 

I opened another account using a VPN and a PO box.  Worked fine.  But can only log in with the VPN showing a US IP address.

[jimmyyy]

USAA is sending my new Credit Card to my Thai Address.  Navy Fed has my address in Thailand, its my bill to address on my Credit card and Debit card.  Now I don't trade stocks so I can not speak to that.  All my investments are with USAA. 

 

The only commercial bank outside of the kingdom that I deal with is bank of America.  Its literally impossible for me to do what i want to with them, but i leave it open using my parents address in the states.  

[Ken]

19 minutes ago, CaptHaddock said:

 

I don't think you could do it now.

I think you are incorrect.  Like lopburi3, I also opened a USAA account a few years ago with my Thai address.  I just now went to the USAA website and started the process to open another account.  No USA address was required.

[CaptHaddock]

10 minutes ago, Ken said:

I think you are incorrect.  Like lopburi3, I also opened a USAA account a few years ago with my Thai address.  I just now went to the USAA website and started the process to open another account.  No USA address was required.

 

It's possible that USAA remains an exception, although it would take an example within the past year to convince me.  But even if that is true, it is unlikely to help the OP since USAA now requires military affiliation to open an account, an even stricter requirement than a US residential address.  All of the banks, including USAA, have become more restrictive in recent years.

 

Therefore, the reasonable answer to the OP's question is still, "No, you almost certainly won't be able to open a US checking account as an expat without falsifying your application."

[Ken]

5 minutes ago, CaptHaddock said:

 

It's possible that USAA remains an exception, although it would take an example within the past year to convince me.  But even if that is true, it is unlikely to help the OP since USAA now requires military affiliation to open an account, an even stricter requirement than a US residential address.  All of the banks, including USAA, have become more restrictive in recent years.

 

Therefore, the reasonable answer to the OP's question is still, "No, you almost certainly won't be able to open a US checking account as an expat without falsifying your application."

Agree with most of what you say.  However the point that lobburi3 made was "if" he had military service this could be a viable option.  

[anon467367354]

Ally Bank, easy to open an account, 24 hour excellent customer service.

No monthly fees. never had an overdraw fee, they reimburse for the fee charged while using their ATM  card here in Thailand which is great!  Use your Ally ATM card here and get the 180 baht back!

Ally bank is awesome, I wouldn't change!

[CaptHaddock]

27 minutes ago, Ken said:

Agree with most of what you say.  However the point that lobburi3 made was "if" he had military service this could be a viable option.  

 

Access to the US banking system may become a big problem for us expats.  My advice to the OP is:

 

1.  Open a checking account using the US address of a friend or family member if you can, i.e. if the bank does not require verification in the form of a utility bill with your name on it.

 

2.  Before the end of the calendar year, get a US mailing address from a mail forwarding service in a state like FL that has no income tax.  Then change the address of record on your account to the mail forwarding address.

 

It is trivially easy for the bank to find out if the address you give is a mail forwarder's since those companies register with the USPS as agents.  I expect that the banks do this check diligently on new accounts, but not on exiisting accounts.  So, it might slip by.  You want to do this before the end of the year so that the bank does not send out a 1099 to the state tax authority for the current tax year, assuming that it's in a state with an income tax.

 

Don't know if this would work, but it seems like the likeliest to.

[Dustdevil]

I just finished working for 30 years in Japan, Malaysia, the Middle East and West Africa. I opened several new accounts and mainained them during that time (investments with Vanguard, checking and savings with JP Morgan Chase; credit cards with Citibank, Barclays USA and others.). Long story short, SIMPLE SOLUTION: I used a UPS Store with a street address and used the address without "UPS." It worked fine. The store knew me and my snail mail always got there. All the financial institutions accepted my street address at face value. I believe I didn't even bother with a VPN when setting up Vanguard and one or two credit cards. After all, you could be on vacation anywhere and still open a US account as long as your "home" address is US-based. Come to think of it, I opened the Chase accounts in 1995 when I actually lived stateside for two years. In the ensuing years they found out I was essentially resident overseas, but I told them I was a Houston resident but with a rotating 4 weeks on/4 weeks off job--which was true when I was in W. Africa. I just kept that up as fiction later as needed. They didn't mind.

Edited December 2, 2016 by Dustdevil

[Dustdevil]

15 minutes ago, CaptHaddock said:

 

Access to the US banking system may become a big problem for us expats.  My advice to the OP is:

 

1.  Open a checking account using the US address of a friend or family member if you can, i.e. if the bank does not require verification in the form of a utility bill with your name on it.

 

2.  Before the end of the calendar year, get a US mailing address from a mail forwarding service in a state like FL that has no income tax.  Then change the address of record on your account to the mail forwarding address.

 

It is trivially easy for the bank to find out if the address you give is a mail forwarder's since those companies register with the USPS as agents.  I expect that the banks do this check diligently on new accounts, but not on exiisting accounts.  So, it might slip by.  You want to do this before the end of the year so that the bank does not send out a 1099 to the state tax authority for the current tax year, assuming that it's in a state with an income tax.

 

Don't know if this would work, but it seems like the likeliest to.

I think you are right. And now that I think of it, my first US address while working overseas was in fact that of a friend of mine in Jersey.

[Dustdevil]

19 minutes ago, gr8fldanielle said:

Ally Bank, easy to open an account, 24 hour excellent customer service.

No monthly fees. never had an overdraw fee, they reimburse for the fee charged while using their ATM  card here in Thailand which is great!  Use your Ally ATM card here and get the 180 baht back!

Ally bank is awesome, I wouldn't change!

Do they issue credit cards, and if so do they charge foreign exchange fees?

[1FinickyOne]

Schwab has an international office for expats... I would guess they will have whatever services you require... 

[anon467367354]

3 minutes ago, Dustdevil said:

Do they issue credit cards, and if so do they charge foreign exchange fees?

no fees!

When you do try to open an account, as with any bank's security, they do track your IP, so you may want to have someone in the states open the account for you. You can use an address like the one on a PayPal account for proof of residence in the US.

[csabo]

It's a violation of the Patriot Act.  A VPN is the only way around it.  Went through a nightmare with Schwabb on this.

[skatewash]

20 minutes ago, gr8fldanielle said:

Ally Bank, easy to open an account, 24 hour excellent customer service.

No monthly fees. never had an overdraw fee, they reimburse for the fee charged while using their ATM  card here in Thailand which is great!  Use your Ally ATM card here and get the 180 baht back!

Ally bank is awesome, I wouldn't change!

This sounded like a good deal to me so I looked into it.  The savings account doesn't come with an ATM card so you must be referring to the money market account, which does come with an ATM card.  As an online only bank it's true that they allow you to make unlimited deposits and withdrawals, but it appears to limited to the US:

 

Quote

Use any Allpoint® ATM in the U.S. for free, plus we reimburse up to $10 per statement cycle for fees charged at other ATMs nationwide.

 

Also, it mentions a foreign transaction fee (which a withdrawal using the ATM card in Thailand would incur) of up to 1%:

 

Quote

 

Cross Border/Currency Conversion Transaction

If you are in a foreign country and use an ATM or make a purchase with your debit card, you may be charged a fee of up to 1% of the transaction amount for the currency conversion and/or cross border transaction.

 

Are you saying that currently their cross border/currency conversion transaction fee is 0%?

The information quoted above comes from:  https://www.ally.com/bank/money-market-account/